The Poky Little Puppy was written by Janette Sebring Lowrey and illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren. It was first published in 1942 as one of the first 12 books in the Simon and Schuster series Little Golden Books. The copyright was renewed in 1970. In the 1980s a short-lived plush Poky was released, but did not sell well. As of the year 2001, it was the single all-time best-selling hardcover children's book in English; according to Publishers Weekly, it had sold nearly 15 million copies.[1]